Direct Response Television Advertising (DRTV) is highly attractive to growing numbers of TV advertisers because it can produce new business almost instantly. Nowadays over 25% of all UK TV commercials carry a direct response "call to action" via an 0800 phone number, text message (SMS) or website visit. DRTV is a form of direct response marketing.

But DRTV can create instant customers and produce a high ROI (return on investment) only if the advertiser fully understands how the technique works best. The DRTV Centre, the leading UK direct response television advertising agency, suggests that TV advertisers make 12 New Year Resolutions which highlight the most important guidelines for success.

Resolution 1: Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. To ensure the best TV script, listen carefully to the expert who suggests that the script should be based on a proven formula. He knows what he’s talking about. Many clients who are new to DRTV want to ignore established guidelines – more often than not their campaigns fail.

Resolution 2: Grab viewers’ attention. The interest of the viewer must be captured immediately; the message must be clear and relevant.

Resolution 3: Solve viewers’ problems. In DRTV commercials a problem/solution scenario often works well – with the advertised product being the solution to the problem, of course.

Resolution 4: Don’t be precious about on-screen titles. Highlight your most important product benefits by featuring prominent titles on screen. Advertising agency creatives hate these - but they work.

Resolution 5: Do not go for laughs. It might be tempting to use humour to capture attention. Don’t. Humour hardly ever works.

Resolution 6: Be direct and explicit. Make it abundantly clear what response you want from the viewer. This is the CTA (call-to-action). Repeat it.

Resolution 7: Recognise the importance of phone response. Show your 0800 Freefone number very early in your commercial and keep it on screen until the end.

Resolution 8: Do not confuse your objectives. Branding is a side effect of great DRTV commercials, not the other way around. Concentrate on maximising response. Brand awareness will result later, from sales success.

Resolution 9: Have faith in figures. DRTV results are accurately measurable; take the advice of experienced experts with respect to analysis. This will tell you which TV stations are performing well, what length is best for your commercial, and what time of day and day of week are most cost-effective.

A good example of how to get it right is WinWales; their Cheques commercial “ticks all the boxes”. Proof of its effectiveness is that it has been screened in Wales virtually every weekday for the past 90 weeks.

David Pearson of The DRTV Centre explains: “Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. These resolutions summarise tried and tested ways to increase advertisers’ chances of DRTV success”.

Details of The DRTV Centre:

Established in London 15 years ago.

The first and only advertising agency in the UK to concentrate on DRTV.